Virginia may be for lovers but it’s New Jersey where marriages go to last, according to the New York Post. Our State had the country’s fourth lowest divorce rate (12.9 per 1,000 residents) in 2015. But one group is bucking the trend: so-called “gray divorce”.

The national average for divorces is 16.9 per 1,000, a 35-year low, according to the National Center for Family & Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University in Kentucky. The states with the fewest divorces are Hawaii, Wisconsin and Rhode Island. Delaware’s rate was the same as New Jersey’s. Washington, DC, had the highest divorce rate at 29.9.

The divorce rate dropped from 17.6 in 2014 to 16.9 in 2015, the lowest rate since 1980. One reason for the drop may be fewer Americans are getting married and those who get married are doing so later in life. Overall divorce rates have been dropping for years, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rate of divorces per thousand residents was roughly the same from 2008 to 2014 and there was a steady decline from 2000 to 2008. The divorce rate was almost 20% higher in 2000 than it was in 2014.

Those 50 years of age and older are getting divorced more often than younger couples. Among these older U.S. adults, the divorce rate has roughly doubled since the 1990’s according to the Pew Research Center.

• In 2015, for every 1,000 married persons ages 50 and older, 10 divorced, double the number in 1990, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau.
• For those 65 and older, the divorce rate has roughly tripled since 1990, reaching six people per 1,000 married persons in 2015.

The increasing divorce rate for those 50 and older is linked in part to the aging of the Baby Boomers (those 51 to 69), who make up most of this age group. They had unprecedented levels of divorce when they were young adults.

• It’s believed this early marital instability is contributing to the rising divorce rate among people 50 and older, since remarriages tend to be less stable than first marriages.
• The divorce rate for those 50 and older in remarriages is double the rate of those with one marriage and among all adults 50 and older divorcing in 2015, 48% had been in their second or higher marriage.
• The risk of divorce in this age group is higher among those who have been married for a shorter time. For those married for less than ten years, the divorce rate was 21 people per 1,000 married persons in 2015 while the rate is 13 people per 1,000 married persons for those 50 and older who had been married for 20 to 29 years.

Simply living in New Jersey doesn’t prevent problems that can lead to a divorce. No matter the trends and no matter your age, if you are considering a divorce, experienced matrimonial attorneys can positively affect negotiations and court outcomes during a process that can be long and arduous.

To get started, call the Central Jersey law offices of Hanan M. Isaacs, P.C., at 609-683-7400, or contact us online, for a near-term reduced fee initial consultation.  We will listen to your facts, explain the law, and guide you on the best pathways to economic and social justice.  Call now.  You will be glad you did.